I think this is a Sonar issue but if anyone else has been through this, maybe I can find out for sure.

A stereo interleaved WAV file I did of a piano track (24/48), when imported into Sonar, sounded strange in spots. "Wobbly" would be the term I'd use. It was subtle but it did not sound like the track originally did. Tellingly, the same file played on the same Windows computer, on the regular Windows Media Player, sounded fine. So I'm pretty sure it's on Sonar. However, the studio owner's tech guy took a look at the file, and here is a quote from him:

"I opened it in Audition and resaved it. I used a more straight forward WAV type.I thought this was the weirdest thing that I had heard in a while, until I saw that the original was created with Digital Performer.This guy will have to be careful when sending tracks to people. DP does some funny things and uses a non-standard header in the WAV file.Cubase, Logic and Sonar can have varying problems with these files."

Any truth to this? I would think there are a few people here that have send WAVs to Windows DAWs so I'm hoping to find out the real deal. TIA for any help!

(BTW - He resaved the file as a 32-bit WAV. Mine was 24 bits. I can't see that as making the difference but you never know).

This is a very strange quote IMO. This never happened to me. I export files very often to other DAWs and studios. (for many years..) I never had to resend anything.I also have Logic in my studio Mac and import export between DP and Logic flawlessly.

DP to Logic, you're staying in the Mac world. I'm going from Mac to Windows. I posted the file on my Dropbox and the Sonar guy downloaded it from there. Like I said, it played fine on his Windows machine in Windows Media Player so I'll assume the transfer from my computer to his was OK. I think what his tech guy is saying is that DP adds something to the header of the WAV file that messes with Sonar. I'm not saying DP is doing anything wrong. It's probably on Sonar. I was just hoping that someone here may have had to deal with the same situation and might have the definitive answer to what's going on.

I have had the reverse problem. WAV files from certain studios don't load into DP. When that happens, I open the file in QuickTime Pro and export it as .aif. I can then use it in DP or convert it back to WAV and then it imports into DP just fine.

I have never had anyone not be able to open .WAV files that I created in DP going back to DP 4.

Thanks for the replies so far! Dan, I did not zip the file. Might that have something to do with this issue? Remember, after he downloaded the file, it opened & played in WMP just fine. If the file was corrupted during the upload and/or download, I would think that it wouldn't load or play correctly in ANY application.

From my continuing research, I've learned that the "broadcast" wave file format is an extension of the standard .WAV file. It includes definitions for extra metadata. Programs that don't use or need this info are supposed to simply ignore it. Maybe there is something DP is putting in their .WAVs that Sonar can't use, but Sonar is not ignoring it. Just a theory, so I am still hoping someone on here had seen this issue before and found out what the cause was.

For the future, I would suggest you protect the integrity of your files and your work by putting the files in a folder and zipping it before transferring it via the internet or even burning to disc. Transferring files over the internet is an easy way to get the file headers messed up, and that can cause all sorts of strange behavior that you would never think of.

I can't be sure if that's what's happened in this case, but I would zip the file and send it to the guy again and see if there's a difference. If you're really paranoid, you can send a 1k testtone the same length as the track just to see if it warbles during playback on his pc.

In my experience sending files to studios and individuals all over the planet (and sometimes using Dropbox if I'm asked to), I've never had a problem, unless it was something I or the person on the other end screwed up. That happens more times than I will admit to.

Thanks Dan, zipping files is a good idea which I've done in the past. This particular gig was for a "DAW owner" , a musician friend of mine that is one of these people that has the gear but learns only enough to get by, and has no understanding of some pretty basic concepts. He wasn't sure he would be able to deal with zipped files (yea, I know ! He hates reading manuals too). I didn't feel like assuming the role of a Windows tech support person so I let it go and assumed that the straight Dropbox transfer would work. In any event, I highly doubt that this is the issue here since, as I've said many times in this thread, the file played perfectly on his machine in Windows Media Player. I find it hard to believe that any corruption of the file during transfer would result in perfect playback on one app and problems in another. But your general point is well taken. In any event, there's not going to be any more sending of files – the tune is finished and mixed. I do plan on contacting the tech guy whose quote is in my first message here. I'm curious to see if he can elaborate on his claim of Digital Performer doing something non-standard to the headers of WAV files.